Rogers to Columbus

Columbus has won the MLS lottery for Robbie Rogers.

Details to come...

[UPDATE] As we reported here first...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Columbus Crew won the rights to U.S. Under-20 National Team forward-midfielder Robbie Rogers Thursday afternoon in a weighted lottery conducted at Major League Soccer headquarters in New York. The 19-year-old Rogers has been signed to a developmental contract and will not occupy one of the Crew's 18 senior roster spots.

Special lotteries are conducted by the league among interested teams for players who are not eligible to be discovered and who were not drafted. It is the same mechanism by which the Crew won midfielder Danny Szetela's rights on July 22, 2004. All 13 teams participated on Thursday.

"It is always exciting to acquire a bright, young talent the caliber of Robbie Rogers," said General Manager Mark McCullers. "Left-footed players are always a hot commodity and he adds another youth national team player to our roster, joining Danny Szetela and Tim Ward."

Rogers recently secured his release from Heerenveen of the Dutch Eredivisie, with which he had signed in August 2006 following one stellar season at the University of Maryland. He scored seven goals and added five assists on the Terrapins' 2005 National Championship squad, which also featured Crew teammates Jason Garey and Marc Burch. Rogers was named to the All-Tournament team and earned All-America laurels that season.

"It is tremendous to be able to add a young attacking talent who is going to be a mainstay for the U.S. in the upcoming U-20 World Cup," said Head Coach Sigi Schmid. "He is going to provide great speed and excitement to our fans and he'll be a lot of fun to watch."

Rogers played the full 90 minutes of all three games, scoring one goal and adding three assists, in the recent CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament in Panama, through which the U.S. advanced to its sixth-straight FIFA U-20 World Cup. He was a two-time Parade All-American in high school and spent a year in the U-17 residency program.

Single-game tickets for the 2007 home season go sale to the general public on Saturday (March 10) at the Crew Stadium Box Office, all Central Ohio Ticketmaster retail locations, via Ticketmaster phone at 614-431-3600 and on-line at TheCrew.com. Fans can still become Crew Soccer Nation members, as well, by purchasing full-season ticket packages or partial plans. Group tickets are also available for all 15 home games. All ticket packages and plans are available by calling 614-447-CREW and at TheCrew.com.

Founded by Lamar Hunt, the Columbus Crew is Ohio's Major League Soccer club, anchoring a diverse sports and entertainment enterprise. One of the league's Charter Members, it will open its 12th season overall and ninth in first-of-its-kind Columbus Crew Stadium on Saturday, April 7, when it plays host to Claudio Reyna and the New York Red Bulls.